Port of Charleston As the world appears to fall into the second dip in the Great Recession, activity at the Panama Canal and at the Port of Charleston depicts a whole different story. That story is awash with bright futures and optimistic outlooks and new money, lots of it.

Such optimism is based on the $5.25 billion expansion of the canal, enough to allow for quarter– mile–long ships carrying up to 14,000–containers as the maximum instead of the current 4,500 containers. When the canal is complete in 2014, the larger container ships will require deeper harbors and ports.

Among the Atlantic ports south of Norfolk, Va., Charleston has the deepest water at 45 feet. And that depth is being dredged to 48 feet for now, but maybe more than 50 feet soon enough.

Meanwhile the planned Jasper Ocean Terminal on the Savannah River, a joint venture between South Carolina and Georgia, is only eight miles from the ocean. The historic Garden City Terminal on the Savannah River is 22 miles from the ocean. Dredging is necessary for not only the 22 miles inland but another 20 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean to ensure deep water and safe passage to where the ocean can already handle the big ships. The Savannah River is only 42 feet deep, and it needs to go down to 48 feet.

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers already needs about $15 million each year maintaining the Charleston Harbor’s depth of 45 feet. To dredge further to at least 48 feet is to need further funding. U. S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has already gone on record to pursue the money.

Once the Panama Canal and the ports on the Savannah River and the Cooper River can accommodate the “Panamax” ships, named for the scale of ships expected on the expanded canal, goods from the Far East will no longer have to dock at Los Angeles or Long Beach to meet the trucks and trains for cross–country delivery. The ships from the Far East will call on Jasper County and Charleston, breeding ideal conditions for South Carolina manufacturers. Expect more automobile assembly plants on the order of BMW besides more manufacturing in general.

One possibility was Alfa Romeo’s new model 169, a luxury 450–hp four–door aimed for the American market and its buyers of the Mercedes E–Class, the BMW 5–Series, and even the Cadillac CTS. As of this summer, long enough since Alfa Romeo partnered up with Chrysler, it now appears Alfa Romeo is more intent on its Brampton (Ontario, Canada) plant, where they make the Chrysler 300 sedan, the Dodge Charger, and the Challenger sports cars. But the decision is not final.

An automobile manufacturer likes an aggregation of activity where clusters of automobile assembly plants are good for parts supply and skilled labor among other shared resources and advantages. Hence, Detroit. Michigan and Ohio still make about 38 percent of all cars and trucks in the country. The labor business, though, might include another city along the export route to the port, like Columbia, since Greenville and Greer already have a lock on the automobile labor in the Upstate.

The South Carolina State Ports Authority plans a one–day tour of the Panama Canal in the next month. A delegation including six or seven board members, several staffers, and maybe a half–dozen lawmakers from the legislative oversight committee assigned to the SPA will take a firsthand look at the canal’s construction. The state delegation will meet with canal executives to review plans at the ports in Charleston and Jasper County.

Upon completion of the expansion of the Panama Canal, industry insiders see three major ports handling most of the traffic on the East Coast: New York, Norfolk and Charleston.